Tag Archives: #wearenotthis

Okay, it’s been a couple of days since the U.S. Presidential Election. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the results. I can’t help but think we are in for at least 4 years of chaos, but we will get through it. I will get through it. It won’t be easy, but at least I’m trying to get my sense of humor back. Dark humor, but humor.

Here are some of my random thoughts.

Hilary Clinton won the popular vote. That means there are more people who voted for what I basically believe in than voted against it.

The Electoral College has to go. It has given us Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump when both lost the popular vote.

I understand the frustration of those who voted for Trump. I actually share a lot of those frustrations that so many people have been left behind as jobs have fled overseas and people have seen their dreams shattered. But…

I don’t understand how people could have voted for someone who ran such a hateful, mendacious campaign. I don’t understand how they can trust him with nuclear weapons. I don’t understand their choices.

I have no patience with those who say “it was just another election”, “it’s just politics,” etc. This was not a sports event or entertainment. This was unlike any election we have seen in our lifetimes and it has both moral and policy implications that will directly impact us for generations. A lot of people are truly heart broken and truly scared. Particularly those of us who are some sort of a minority- LGBTQ, Black, Hispanic, Latino, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and almost anyone else not white, Christian and straight.

I don’t think we can ever close the gaps this Election has opened. Personally speaking, I will never see some of my old friends- particularly old High School and hometown friends- in the same way again. I’m sorry, but whether you see it that way or not, you voted for prejudice and hatred. As a Gay man, I take that personally. I can’t let myself be viewed as your “exception” because you know me or you like me. That’s not fair, right or true. I’m not going to make this easy for you.

I always had trouble seeing myself and my friends as older or in late middle age. I always still thought of us as younger. Now, some of my friends seem to have become that old man sitting on the porch screaming at those kids to get off their lawns and longing for “the good old days.” Not me…I’m still younger, more hopeful and forward-looking than that.

I do feel old when I realize that I will have to fight some of the same battles yet again. But I will fight.

That said, what does one wear to a protest march?

The Millennials bear their share of the blame. They have not yet realized you build third parties from the bottom up, not the top down. You not only threw away your votes going for Jill Stein and Gary Johnson, but because of the razor-thin margins in some key Electoral College states, you helped elect President Trump. It’s time to get practical and make pragmatic decisions. Voting your principles won’t get you out of the College Debt crisis. If you support the Green or Libertarian parties, run candidates for the School Board, City Councils, State Houses. Build from the bottom up. I’m with you there but not when you blithely “vote your conscience” and it yields these results.

The Democratic Party needs to get its shit together. In a climate of change, the leadership of the DNC did everything in its power to put forth the most establishment candidate they could possibly have nominated. The fact that she was a woman or that she was immensely qualified did not matter. People saw an insider and wanted an outsider. They should have seen this coming.

Given the rabid desire for change, I think Bernie would have won. He would have been a viable alternative to the change seekers who voted for Trump.

Hillary Clinton was unjustly vilified and lied about more than any candidate I have ever seen. She has been treated unfairly by the press, the GOP and so many other institutions. I may not always agree with her, but she is an admirable woman who spent her life in public service. But the times have changed and perceptions cannot be changed. She was an Establishment Candidate in an Anti-Establishment environment. That’s all that mattered to a lot of people.

The Baby Boomers really screwed this one up. We have left another mess for the Millennials to clean up after we are gone.

The Supreme Court. I still can’t face this one …President Trump will be able to appoint at least one and probably more justices. This is what really scares me. If we correct the course in the House, Senate and Presidency, the Supreme Court is lost for the rest of my lifetime and will make the battle for equality that much harder.

I have never seen such clear examples of straight white male privilege and white privilege in general as I have seen on some Facebook posts from some folks over the last 2 days. This is not a post-racial society. We won’t let you go back to the 1950’s, which seems to be your idealized era. Women are empowered and no longer want to be barefoot and pregnant just because you want them so. Gays are not going back into the Closet because we make you uncomfortable. Transgendered people do exist. People of Color deserve respect, equality and freedom from fear. Jews, Muslims, Hindu’s and people of other religions have as much right to be here, to live freely and safely as you. It’s not the 1950’s and I, for one, am so glad of that.

That said, no matter how much some may wish it, the demographic trends show this is not going to be a white majority nation in the very near future. This is a diverse, multi-cultural country now and I love it that way. You need to get over it and try to learn to understand and accept people who are different from you. Get out of the Facebook echo chamber, get out from your churches, offices and country clubs, with people just like you, and meet the new America. It’s a really nice place.

We all need to get out of our Bubbles and try to understand and educate each other. I have been sorely tempted to defriend a lot of people on Facebook. I won’t. I want to try to understand their points of view or at least see what they are up to.

Both Alt Right and Alt Left media sources need to be recognized for what they are. I am very careful what I choose to share as I know both have an element of propaganda and playing to what their audience wants. That said, I can never respect someone who bases their opinions on Brietbart, Newsmax or other right-wing propaganda sources.

There is such a thing as facts. Your opinion does not matter if it is not supported by facts from reliable sources. Period.

The mainstream media bares a lot of blame for this….They gave Trump entirely too much free attention.

Journalism needs to return to its roots. Report facts, not opinions and don’t twist yourself into a knot trying to appear balanced when the facts don’t support that conclusion.

It won’t happen, but we need to separate the line between News and Entertainment. That blurred line is really what has undermined journalism. We just elected an entertainer to the most powerful position in the world.

The “Religious Right” no longer has any credibility. This is why organized religion is declining in America. Its leaders, like Jerry Falwell, Jr. and Franklin Graham, are corrupt. These folks just supported and voted for a thrice married, serial adulterer, who built his career cheating and screwing over people. He has never turned the other cheek or done anything to remotely help his fellow-man. It is high time we truly separate religion from politics, as our Founding Fathers intended, but it won’t happen any time soon. It will take another generation.

That said, I know a lot of fine, truly Christian people who are as heartbroken as I am now. Those Christians who believe in social justice and treating others as they would like to be treated. These folks have my utmost respect and admiration. It’s the institutions that are corrupt, not the true Christians.

There is no political act more selfish and small-minded than voting solely on the basis of lowering your personal taxes. This shows a willingness to trade off the rights and protections of others as long as it personally benefits you financially.

Anti-Elitism is a cancer on the American society. There was a time when we wanted the most educated, experienced, qualified people to be in leadership roles. Now it seems a large portion of the electorate places more weight on who they like the most or want to share a beer with. Presidential Elections are about leading the most powerful nation in the world; they are not a Fraternity Rush Party.

Most people don’t know this, but I was raised in a Republican family, went to a Republican College and worked as a professional, paid staffer on Republican campaigns in the late 1980’s. I still have some Republican friends that I love deeply. However, this is not the Republican Party we grew up with. I examined my conscience and beliefs and moved on. I then followed my conscience and beliefs that the Party had left me behind as it lurched to the Right. I eventually realized I was not really a Republican at all and probably never really was. This is not the educated, Country Club Republican Party of my youth. I know some of my friend still struggle with this. Get out of it. Face the facts. It’s not a place for nice people anymore. We welcome you to our world.

Hilary Clinton was investigated by various congressional committees and the Justice Department for 30 years and never indicted. Donald Trump goes to Court again next month for the umpteenth time.

That said, I won’t be surprised if Trump is gone by next year. I know the DC Republican Establishment. The Masters of the Universe will not allow him to deviate from their positions without a fight. If he doesn’t play ball with them, they will find a way to impeach him. That would make Mike Pence, one of the Insider’s Club, President. That may be even scarier.

The Republicans now control all 3 branches of Government and will soon control the Supreme Court. This scares the hell out of me, but it also gives them accountability. They have no one to blame for their actions but themselves. The spotlight will be shining on them very brightly. They will over-reach. It will hurt us all, but they will be exposed for what they truly are. It happened in North Carolina and it will happen on a much larger scale now.

Voter Suppression by the GOP worked. These margins were so thin in so many areas, particularly in North Carolina where I live. The reduction in early voted did suppress the Black vote here. The GOP tendency to stop people from voting by any means necessary is truly frightening to anyone who values Democracy.

A man who has filed bankruptcy several times is now leading the world’s biggest economy. He is not a successful businessman. Let that sink in….

It is going to be a very long and painful 4 years.

But I have hope. People under 30 voted against Trumpism in almost every state. I’m being selfish now. Change will come, but I had hoped to live to see it. It now appears I won’t. This makes me feel very old and very sad….